November 1941 B — Gorky-Fedyakovo Airfield С —
Gorky-Avtozavod Airfield D — Fuel warehouse E — Grocery warehouse F — Railway platform G —
Main Railway Station H — The railway bridge across the Volga I — Oksky (Kanavinsky) Bridge J — Overpass K — Mills and barns L — Oil Refinery M —
Aircraft Building Plant N —
Defense Plant O —
Automobile Plant P —
Diesel Engine Plant Q — Rolling workshop R — Machine-Tool Plant S — Shipyard T —
Radiotelephone Plant The
Fair Reconnaissance flights over Gorky began in the autumn of 1941. German planes flew at high altitude, braking over GAZ. The first scout plane, a
Junkers Ju 88, appeared in the sky above the city on Thursday, October 9. At first the Luftwaffe bombed the suburbs. The main blow fell on elevators and warehouses near
Dzerzhinsk. This was followed by two large raids on Gorky.
Heinkel He 111 aircraft of the
Kampfgruppe 100 were involved. The first raid, on the night of November 4/5, began at 4:30 pm. The paucity of antiaircraft guns allowed German aircraft to sight and bomb from low altitude. A total of 127 people died, 176 were injured severely, and 195 were wounded (data vary in different sources). A large number of the deceased were refugees from Moscow, resettled in the
Avtozavodsky City District. No German aircraft were shot down. On Saturday, November 8, 1941, the Gorky Brigade Air Defense District was reinforced by the 58th and 281st separate anti-aircraft artillery divisions, the 142nd Fighter Aviation Division and the 45th anti-aircraft search belt. From Wednesday, November 12 to Tuesday, 18, 1941, the Germans launched a series of raids by single-seat aircraft with the main purpose of destroying the Kanavinsky Bridge, but missed.
Bombing of 1942 On the night of 3/4 February 1942, a single aircraft, shutting down its engines and, flying from a great height, broke through the air defense shield and dropped three bombs on GAZ. Wheel and engine workshops were damaged. 17 workers died, 41 were wounded. In this raid, for the first time, German agent spotters who had infiltrated into Gorky were seen. They carried out target designation, launching red and white signal flares from the ground. On the nights of February 4/5, 7/8, and 23/24, three attempts were made to attack Gorky. According to air defense, in the first raid of twelve aircraft in the city, only one got through, dropping five bombs on GAZ and Stakhanovsky village; in the second and third raids no planes got through. According to German data, on the night of February 5/6, a single airplane raided. In total, as a result of the bombing of February 1942, 20 people died and 48 people were injured. Damage inflicted to industrial facilities was insignificant. At the end of May, five reconnaissance flights were carried out over the city. On May 30 and June 10, two unsuccessful bombing raids on Gorky,
Bor and
Dzerzhinsk were undertaken. According to air defense estimates, approximately 20 aircraft took part. For the defense of the most important objects,
barrage balloons and the anti-aircraft guns of
gunboats of the Volga Military Flotilla were first used. According to German data, the raids were committed on the night of May 30. 30-31, from Sunday, May 31 to Monday, June 1 and June 10 (single aircraft). The bombing was carried out from a great height, about 50 bombs fell on the residential sector and repair base No. 97, where the tanks were assembled, which were done by Lend-Lease. The single reconnaissance planes Junkers Ju 88 and
Dornier Do 215 flew over the city from June 1 to 5 at different heights. June 23, Ju 88 from a great height bombed the Aviation Plant Nr. 21 "Ordzhonikidze", but the bombs fell into the Sormovskiy Park. On the night of Wednesday, June 24 to Thursday, 25, a group of aircraft dropped bombs on the outskirts of Gorky, in the vicinity of Strigino village. Another plane dropped two 500 kg bombs at the Aviation Plant Nr. 21, one of which did not explode. On Monday, July 27, the deputy squadron commander of the 722nd Fighter Aviation Regiment, Pyotr Shavurin, on
MiG-3 intercepted the reconnaissance aircraft Ju 88D and knocked him down with a ramming blow. The planes fell in the vicinity of the villages of Kozlovka-Sannica-Tumbotino. The ramming blow was explained by the fact that the weak armament of the MiG-3 did not allow to effectively combat bombers. However, at that time, it was the only model of a high-altitude fighter in the arsenal of air defense. The wreckage of the German aircraft was collected and exhibited for viewing on the
Soviet Square. On the night of Thursday, November 5 to Friday, 6, a group of German planes made an unsuccessful attempt to bomb the Neftegaz refinery. At GAZ, 9 high-explosive and several incendiary bombs were dropped. As a result of the raid, the boiler room was badly damaged, 4 workers died, the plant did not work at all for 3 days, and then it did not work at full capacity for 3 weeks. Most of the incendiary bombs fell on the Gorky Machine-building Plant, several bombs exploded not far from the Moskovsky Railway Station. In this raid, German aviation first used light bombs.
June 1943 (1 - House of Soviets, 2 - Military school, 3 - Arsenal); С - The
Fair (1 - The Main Fair building, 2 - Exchange); The mill (Dampfmühle) is surrounded by a white solid line. In June 1943, after a prolonged calm, Gorky underwent a series of massive night attacks by German aviation. The main goal was again GAZ. The raids were carried out in preparation for a major offensive
Citadel operation (summer-autumn 1943), during which German bombers struck the industrial centers of the Volga region - Gorky,
Yaroslavl and
Saratov. It was one of the largest Luftwaffe attacks on the Soviet Union's rear during the entire war.
German Aviation Two-engine bombers of the squadrons KG 27 and KG 55 participated in the raids, which rose from the airfields near Orel and Bryansk and, bypassing the Moscow air defense zone, they flew up to Gorky from Dzerzhinsk,
Bogorodsk and
Arzamas. To use the darkest time of the day, bombardments were conducted from 12 am to 2 am. At first the target was designated as light missiles and air defense was blocked, then bombed from different heights and directions. Tactics changed every time. High-explosive, fragmentation and incendiary bombs of various calibers (up to 2000 kg) and incendiary liquids were dropped into the city. The results of each raid recorded by reconnaissance aircraft flying over the city at an altitude of 7 km, at 5 pm the next day. during an air raid on the night of June 4 to Monday, June 5, 1943 In the first raid on the night of June 4–5, in order to cover up, the preparation of the Luftwaffe raid, an attack on Moscow was launched. According to air defense data, approximately 45 He 111, Ju 88 and
Focke-Wulf Fw 200 took part in it. The planes flew from the directions Vladimir-Kovrov-Gorky and Kulebaki-Arzamas-Gorky. The bombing began at 12:45 am, about 20 planes broke through to the city. A total of 289 bombs were dropped, 260 of which were dropped on GAZ, the main conveyor, a spring workshop, and a smithy No. 3 were put out of operation. Several houses and a hospital were destroyed. In Avtozavodsky City District and at the plant, 70 people died and 210 were wounded. Attempts to break into the northern part of the city to the plants Krasnoe Sormovo, Aviation Plant Nr. 21 "Ordzhonikidze", and Gorky machine-building plant failed. 5 German aircraft were lost. According to German data, 168 He 111 and Ju 88 aircraft participated in the raid, of which 149 aircraft attacked Gorky. In the second raid on the night of June 5–Tuesday, 6, according to air defense estimates, 80 He 111 aircraft participated. The bombing lasted from 12:31 am to 02:08 am. The raid was carried out by 6 groups from different altitudes and directions. Mainly, the western and northern sides of GAZ were attacked. The main power transmission line is disabled, the water supply network is badly damaged. Completely burnt assembly workshop, a department of adjacent industries, a rubber warehouse, a fleet of tow trucks, a locomotive depot, a chassis workshop, a dietetal. Finally, the main workshop burned down. About 100 bombs were dropped at the plant. The residential district and the tuberculosis hospital suffered. In the Monastyrka village 60-80 houses were burned and destroyed. According to German data, 128 planes were involved in the raid and 2 were lost. At the same time, some of the aircraft in the bombing of Gorky did not participate, but bombed
Stalinogorsk. The third raid on June 6–Wednesday, 7 was the most powerful, according to air defense. It involved 157 He 111 and Ju 88 aircraft (according to German data there were 154 aircraft, some of which bombed Stalinogorsk). The main blow fell on the central and south-western parts of the city (GAZ, Sotsgorod, Myza). The wheel workshop of GAZ was completely destroyed by fire. Also, the tool-stamping body, the press-body and mechanical workshops, and the
motive power depot were damaged. A total of 170 bombs were dropped at the plant. 38 people died, 83 were injured. The microdistricts of Sotsgorod, Americansky posyolok and Monastyrka were severely damaged. Also, the telephone exchange, the district executive committee, the
polyclinic, the central club, the
electrical substation, the
police station and the
garage of the district committee of the
CPSU (b) were damaged. Several houses on the Molotov avenue (now avenue of October) were destroyed. In the Avtozavodsky district 73 people died, 149 were injured. Artillery shot down 4 aircraft, and fighter planes shot down 2 aircraft. June 7 in Germany announced on the radio about the destruction of an automobile plant in Gorky. In the fourth raid on June 7–Thursday, 8, 50-60 aircraft participated. At the plant broke 3 of them. 9 high-explosive and 7 incendiary bombs were dropped, the cast iron smelting foundry and the residential area suffered, according to air defense data. Six planes were shot down. According to German data, 39 tons of bombs were dropped on the city. According to the results of 4 raids in the plant, 993 air bombs were dropped. According to the medical service, 698 people were injured: 233 people died, 24 people died from wounds in hospitals, and 465 were injured. In the fifth raid, on June Saturday, 10–Sunday, 11, from 50 to 110 aircraft participated, according to different data. The fire from heavy anti-aircraft guns met the aircraft on approach to the city, bombs were dropped from altitudes of 4000–5500 meters and wore more chaotic character. GAZ, thermal power station, water intake, harbor, residential quarters in Leninsky and
Voroshilovsky City Districts, as well as villages: Lyakhovo, Monastyrka, Shcherbinka and Myza airfield were attacked. The sixth raid on June Tuesday, 13–Wednesday, 14. 50-80 aircraft. The eastern part of GAZ was attacked. According to German data, planes flew in small groups along the route Ryazan - Murom - Pavlovo - Gorky. As a result of the bombing, the water intake station of the Leninsky City District was damaged. 16 high-explosive and 20 heavy incendiary bombs were dropped on the Dvigatel Revolyutsii plant, several buildings and part of the roof of the main workshop of the machine-tool plant were destroyed. The shipyard was also attacked. The
Kommodore of the KG 27
Oberstleutnant Hans-Henning Freiherr von Beust personally supervised the actions of German pilots. His plane flew over the city at high altitude. Gorky Machine-Building, Aviation Plant Nr. 21 "Ordzhonikidze" and
Krasnoye Sormovo plants, as well as bridges across the
Oka and the
Volga, were not affected. The seventh raid on June Wednesday, 21–Thursday, 22 was the last. Since this was the second anniversary of
Germany's attack on the Soviet Union, both sides were preparing for the fight. According to air defense, 75 aircraft participated in the raid. 40 planes broke through to the city. On the territory of GAZ were dropped: 31 light flares, 15 explosive, 80 combined and about 300 small incendiary bombs. The foundry, the reinforcing-radiator building and the plant Novaya sosna were damaged. In the residential quarter there were four fires. According to German data, the entire
Lower City, the Vorobyov machine-building plant, the plant of food concentrates, residential quarters were attacked. Several power lines were damaged. Attempts to destroy Oksky (now Kanavinsky) and Borsky bridges failed. The Geschwaderkommodore Hans-Henning Freiherr von Beust again participated in the raid. During the bombing 88 people died, 180 were injured. According to the results of the operation, German bombers had carried out 43 raids, 26 of which were at night, a total of 645 sorties were carried out by German aircraft, 1631 high-explosive and 3390 incendiary bombs were dropped on the city. 254 civilians and 28 air defense soldiers died, more than 500 civilians and 27 soldiers were injured. At the plant, 52 buildings were destroyed, a large number of equipment was put out of operation. Strong fires arose because of the hot weather. Also, the spread of fires contributed to the wooden materials to mask the GAZ. A significant part of the plant was destroyed or burnt. Although he continued to work, but the output basically stopped, all the workers' forces were thrown at its recovery. The Luftwaffe could not develop its success further, after the destruction of GAZ. In subsequent raids, secondary industrial objects and residential areas were attacked, which were less protected. Industrial enterprises in the northern part of the city almost did not suffer from bombing.
Consequences of bombardments The bombing of the largest industrial center of the country caused an immediate reaction of the supreme power of the Soviet Union. On June 5, Stalin personally created a resolution of the State Defense Committee No. 3524 "On the Air Defense of Gorky". To investigate the reasons for the failure to fulfill the tasks, a commission was appointed, consisting of the head of the
NKVD Lavrentiy Beria, the chief of the
NKGB Vsevolod Merkulov, the secretary of the
Central Committee of the
CPSU (b)
Alexander Shcherbakov, the chairman of the
Moscow Soviet Vasily Pronin and the commander of the air defense of the country Mikhail Gromadin. After the commission's investigation, the commander of the air defense of the region, Major General Alexei Alexandrovich Osipov was demoted and GAZ director Alexander Lifshits was removed from his post. On June 8, 100 anti-aircraft guns of small and medium caliber, 250 large-caliber machine guns, 100 searchlights and 75 barrage balloons were allocated for the intensification of air defense of the Gorky industrial region. The restoration of GAZ was started almost immediately, on the initiative of the chief designer Andrei Lipgart. Immediately after the first raid, the design archive of the plant was evacuated, gasoline was removed from the territory and dismantling of camouflage shields that caused fires began.
Semyon Ginzburg, people's Commissar for Construction, arrived in Gorky to deal promptly with the reconstruction. == Air defense of the city ==